Sony at IFA 2013: the Smartwatch 2, Smart Lenses, and more – The Verge

Sony offers a magnetic solution to the Windows 8 hybrid problem

2013-09-06T07:07:26-04:00

Gallery Photo: Sony VAIO multi-flip PC hands-on

At IFA in Berlin this week there have been a host of new Windows 8 laptops and PCs. Some small enough for your pocket, ones that recline into your lap, and the usual hybrids that twist and turn from laptop to tablet. While Acer, Lenovo, and Samsung have experimented with their own unique flipping laptops, Sony has now entered the game. The new VAIO multi-flip PC is the latest attempt to merge tablet, laptop, and desktop computing into a single device.

The multi-flip PC looks like a normal Windows 8 laptop. It has an aluminum casing and a Haswell processor. The 13-inch model features a 1920 x 1080 display. On the 15-inch that jumps to 2880 x 16 …

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Sony’s HMZ-T3 continues a proud tradition of awkward head furniture

2013-09-05T14:38:29-04:00

Gallery Photo: Sony HMZ-T3 hands-on gallery

The latest iteration of Sony's head-mounted display is somewhat obscured, deep at the back of the company's IFA 2013 booth, but that didn't stop me from paying it a curious visit. I'd never previously gotten the chance to experience this strange contraption for myself, and having recently taken a magical ride inside the Oculus Rift, I was keen to see what Sony had to offer as competition. Alas, my experience is best described as mixed.

Reaching the milestone of a third-generation product should mean the HMZ-T3 has the benefits of a couple years' of evolution and, indeed, the latest model has been subjected to a range of small nips, tucks, a …

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Watch this: Sony’s IFA 2013 press conference in four minutes

2013-09-04T12:02:50-04:00

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From a new Smartwatches to a "Smart Lens" that turns your smartphone into a camera - and even something about Ricky Martin. Watch Sony CEO Kaz Hirai introduce the company's new flagship Xperia Z1 and some intriguing new hardware - and stay tuned for Samsung's event later in the day!

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Sony’s Music Video Recorder is a small, strange, gorgeous handheld camera

2013-09-04T11:47:44-04:00

Sony Music Video Recorder

Sony's Action Cam is rugged and boxy, but unless you're in grave danger somewhere you might be better off buying the $299.99 Sony Music Video Recorder (HDR-MV1). Mostly because it's just gorgeous - a beautiful, weird black and silver box that looks a little like a futuristic weapon or something James Bond might carry. (Though he's probably not big into taking video.) It essentially pairs the Action Cam's innards with a dual microphone array, which captures 120 degrees of broad, dynamic sound. Sony's pitching it almost exclusively to YouTube musicians - thanks to built-in Wi-Fi and NFC you can shoot and share all on the same camera - but for …

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Sony’s first curved LED TV ships in October for $3,999.99

2013-09-04T11:30:09-04:00

Sony curved LED TV

As part of its big IFA 2013 event, Sony announced a number of new TVs, including this 65-inch LED monster. The real draw here is that it's a curved LED TV, much like the curved OLED sets that Samsung and LG introduced back at CES earlier this year. Of course, Sony's set is using standard LED lighting and not the higher-quality (and more expensive) OLED technology - so while it might not match up to Samsung and LG's curved TVs in terms of pure image quality, it's also significantly cheaper. The TV comes with the standard smart TV connectivity features and 3D capability, but also features eight angled front-facing speakers that Sony says can e …

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Sony’s Xperia Z1 aims to be the biggest and best Android cameraphone yet

2013-09-04T10:45:05-04:00

Xperia Z1

Berlin's weather this week may be unseasonably bleak, but the tech companies gathered for its annual IFA exhibition aren't leaving us out in the cold. Sony is starting up the major announcements with its new Xperia Z1, a 5-inch waterproof Android smartphone with an eyebrow-raising 20.7-megapixel camera. Outside of Nokia's entirely unreasonable 41-megapixel sensor in the Lumia 1020, this is as much pixel power as you're likely to find in a flagship smartphone device. Sony's sensor is also larger than average in physical terms, comparable in size to some of the company's point-and-shoot cameras, meaning it has a legitimate chance at succeeding …

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Sony’s three new VAIOs find ways to make tablets out of anything, even 21-inch desktops

2013-09-04T10:45:05-04:00

Sony VAIO Flip PC (1024px)

At IFA in Berlin, Sony's taken the stage to announce three new additions to its lineup of VAIO PCs. They're three radically different devices for radically different users, but from their 1080p touchscreens to their shape-shifting form factors, one thing is clear: Sony can turn anything into a tablet.

The new VAIO Flip PC, part of the company's lower-end Fit line, joins a breed of laptops that use innovative hinges to twist, flip, and torque into other shapes. The Flip uses a fulcrum about half the height of the laptop itself, which normally looks like part of the lid. Push backward on the top of the screen, though, and the display rotates …

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Sony’s QX Smart Lens attaches an entire camera to your smartphone

2013-09-04T10:45:05-04:00

Sony QX100 lens camera (verge stock)

The rumor that once seemed too wild to be true has just become an official reality with Sony's announcement of the new QX Smart Lens series of smartphone accessories. These so-called lens-style cameras contain almost all the hardware you'd find in a Sony point-and-shoot - a zoom lens, image sensor and processing chips, a battery, stereo microphones, and even their own memory card slots - but omit the inclusion of a viewfinder. That role is to be performed by your smartphone, which connects via Wi-Fi and is used to control the Smart Lens and share the resulting images out to the world.

Today's int …

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Sony’s SmartWatch 2 is better than the first one, but still far too expensive

2013-09-04T10:45:05-04:00

sony smartwatch 2

First announced in June and now ready for its retail release, Sony's SmartWatch 2 continues an unfortunate trend in smartwatches: the materials and design are getting fancier, but the watches aren't becoming any smarter. I got a chance to try one of the new SmartWatches out ahead of this week's IFA showcase in Berlin, and while it delivers the usual set of smartphone-connected apps and options, it remains a device with distinctly limited appeal.

Sony bills the SmartWatch 2 as a second screen for your smartphone and that's very much what it is. You can do one-touch pairing with compatible devices over NFC, a nea …

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Sony announces Xperia Z1 smartphone with BIONZ camera, 5-inch display

2013-09-04T10:37:56-04:00

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During a live press event at IFA in Berlin today, Sony officially announced the Xperia Z1, its latest flagship smartphone. A successor of sorts to the Xperia Z announced at CES in January, the Z1 will come in three colors, black, purple, and white. Like the Z, the Z1 is also waterproof. It features a BIONZ image processor, 1/2.3-inch camera sensor, and Sony G-branded lens. Sony claims that this allows the Z1 to zoom in up to 3x with "zero loss" in image quality. It seems that Sony has been paying attention to what Nokia has been doing with the Lumia 1020 lately.

The Z1's main focus is its camera, and it comes with a suite of apps to help us …

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